FLASHBACK: In 2004, Northampton wins first Virginia Duals wrestling title

A weekly look back at sports in the Lehigh Valley, in anniversaries of multiples of five.

Jan. 7

1969—Lansford native Mike Hovolak, who has been with the Boston Patriots since its inception, is fired as coach and general manager after the team limps through a 4-10 season. The Patriots, who were 3-10-1 the previous year, were 52-46-9 in nearly eight years and reached the 1963 American Football League title game under Hovolak, who replaced Lou Saban in the middle of the team's second season in 1961. Hovolak, who led Boston College to the 1941 Sugar Bowl and 1943 Orange Bowl as a player before serving in World War II, was also 49-29-3 in nine years at his alma mater before being hired by the Patriots as the director of player personnel.

1969—Tamaqua snaps a 24-game East Penn League losing streak dating back to February 1967 by beating Freedom 50-44. George Wetzel scores 11 points in the fourth quarter to help erase a 39-31 deficit.

Jan. 8

1969—East Stroudsburg State College's Steve Guter scores 57 points to outgun Kutztown's George Krell, who finishes with 40 points, but Kutztown beats the Warriors 113-94 in a Pennsylvania Athletic Conference game switched to Kutztown due to bomb threats on the East Stroudsburg campus.

1959—After several weeks of speculation over the future of the franchise and pro baseball in the Lehigh Valley, Max Hess announces he will offer use of Breadon Field, which he purchased in late December for future development as a shopping complex, rent-free to Allentown A-Sox owner Joe Buzas for the 1959 season. Buzas quickly accepts the offer, ensuring the team will remain in Allentown for the immediate future.

Jan. 10

2009—Moravian women's basketball coach Mary Beth Spirk becomes the 30th coach in Division III history to compile 400 career victories when the Greyhounds beat Susquehanna 83-72. Spirk is 400-189 in 22 seasons with the Greyhounds.

2004—Northampton wins its first Virginia Duals title by beating Great Bridge, Va., 34-23 in the high school division finals at Hampton, Va., but top-seeded Lehigh comes up short of its second straight college title when the Mountain Hawks fall to second-seeded Nebraska, 25-13, reversing the 2003 championship result. Billy Hedt, Jon Oplinger and Matt Snyder all have late pins in the title match for the Konkrete Kids, who belt Camden (N.J.) Catholic 50-6 in the semifinals. Great Bridge reaches the finals with a 41-22 win over Nazareth, which finishes fourth after falling to Christiansburg, Va., 43-25, in the consolation final.

1989—Behind Billy McCaffrey's 37 points, Central Catholic rolls past Freedom 82-38 for Bob Schlosser's 171st win with the Vikings, surpassing Mel Kelly's mark of 170-63 between 1930 and 1940 and making him the school's all-time winningest boys basketball coach. Schlosser resigns after the 1989-90 season with a 204-73 record.

1964—Tom Bonstein scores 18 points and Easton tops the 100-point mark for the first time in school history in a 105-32 East Penn League rout of archrival Phillipsburg.

1964—Dave Turzo scores a Pen Argyl record 42 points and becomes the first Green Knight to top 1,000 in his career in a 94-49 Lehigh-Northampton League victory over Southern Lehigh.

Jan. 11

1989—Vesta Nelson scores 14 points, including the go-ahead basket in overtime to snap a 51-all tie, and Palmerton gives coach Bill Piper the 300th victory of his girls basketball coaching career with a 55-52 nonleague win over Wilson. Piper's record improves to 300-188 in 20 years.

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